A Joyous Factory Reunion
Between 1985 and 1988, I worked as the human resources manager in a factory in Lynn, Massachusetts, USA. I loved working there. I loved my relationships with the people who worked on the shop floor and the engineers and managers who worked in offices and cubicles. However, I lost contact with most of them years ago, when I was promoted out of the factory and moved to work in another city.
Recently I remembered and discharged about some of the people I had been close to at the factory. Over the following month or two, I had phone conversations with several whom I had not talked with in many years. Talking with them brought back good memories of working with people at the factory.
I decided to organize and lead a reunion. I got e-mail addresses from two people who had also maintained contact with some former coworkers. I put together an e-mail list of forty people and invited them to a reunion on Zoom. And I received some immediate positive responses.
Twenty-seven of us got together for a ninety-minute reunion. It was ninety minutes of laughing, telling stories, reminiscing, and catching up on where people are now. I had not seen most of the people for more than thirty years. People were so happy to see each other and reconnect.
For several years I had spent most of every workday with this group of people. I cared deeply about them. I loved them. And I could notice how much they all mattered to me. Memories came flooding back as they told stories and built on each other’s stories. It was a joyous ninety minutes.
Half of the attendees have sent e-mails to the full group or to me appreciating that we got together. They have shared pictures, press clippings, and additional stories and have proposed that we make the reunion an annual event.
In RC owning-class liberation, we talk about “coming home to the working class.” This was a significant “coming home” for me. Most of the people I knew are either currently or were raised working class. (They are also predominantly male.) There was a working-class culture and spirit in the factory that I deeply appreciated. During the three years I worked there, I was immersed in that culture and spirit. It was good for me then, and it is good for me now.
I have cried hard about how much I value my relationships with these people and how important we are to each other.
Stamford, Connecticut, USA
Reprinted from the RC e-mail discussion list for leaders of owning-class people
(Present Time 205, October 2021)